On 10 September 2016, the China-ASEAN Environmental Cooperation Forum 2016, with the theme of “Sustainable Urban Transformation for Green Development”, was held in Nanning during the 13th China-ASEAN Expo. The Forum was co-hosted by China’s Ministry of Environment Protection and the Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, organized by China-ASEAN Environment Cooperation Centre. More than 300 delegates from the government sectors, business circles, international organizations, media, etc, including Mr. Huang Shiyong, Vice Governor of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Mr. Zhao Yingmin, Vice Minister of Environmental Protection of China, Mr. Chu Pham Ngoc Hien, Vice Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Viet Nam and Mr. Vongthep Arthakaivalvatee, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN attended the Forum. Representative of ASEAN-China Centre attended the Forum.
Vice Governor Huang Shiyong said that in recent years, Guangxi had been striving for the balanced development of environment and economy, which had achieved remarkable results. Guangxi would like to further play its active role to its advantages, to push forward ASEAN-China environment cooperation, raise the development level and bring tangible benefits to the people of this region.
Vice Minister Zhao Yingmin proposed three suggestions for strengthening ASEAN-China environment cooperation. First, to build the “Green Belt and Road” and regional environment community together. Second, to set up a good example of south-south environment cooperation. Third, to enhance the cooperation on Eco-friendly cities, so as to provide driving forces to environment cooperation. He hoped that the two sides could have closer coordination and make greater contribution to the sustainable development of the region together.
Vice Minister Chu Pham Ngoc Hien said that this May, ASEAN and China endorsed the ASEAN-China Environment Cooperation Strategy 2016-2020, which pointed out the direction and paths to further strengthening ASEAN-China environment cooperation. He hoped that the two sides could strengthen policy coordination, form cooperation mechanism, and acheive the common goal of green development. Vice Secretary-General Vongthep said that environment cooperation has been one of the priorities of ASEAN-China cooperation. The two sides should shoulder the responsibilities together, coordinate with each other, and strive for the low-carbon and sustainable urban development.
The delegates exchanged views on sustainable urban transformation: policies, progress and experiences, environmentally sound technology cooperation and innovation, achieving environmental goals of the 2030agenda for sustainable development, etc. During the Forum, the Inauguration Ceremony of China-ASEAN Partnership for Ecologically Friendly Urban Development was held.